Jonathan Worth sez, "Four years ago when I first opened my photography classes online the big issue was 'free' – if you 'give your classes away for free then no one will pay for them'. My answer to those people was that the classes weren't what people paid for – they paid for the learning experience, of being in the room – this online version – this open and connected version just meant that the room they paid to be in now sat at the middle of a network. And that network is now significant. Yesterday it trended on Twitter – I don't know many classes that do that.
Here we are at #phonar's (Photography and Narrative) fourth iteration with hundreds of thousands of people having come by and the course is now the most oversubscribed in the University, even with them charging the maximum amount they're allowed. And next year the whole undergraduate programme will open and available online – for free. Boom.
Every week we have a guest speaker and the global class listens along tweeting their notes, questions and comments, there's usually tips and tricks from the rockstars – we have a discussion about that then we set a task which everyone is invited to do. And of course all of the material is available for free online so you can run a local class of your own if you want, I have one opening in California this Friday and we're working on another for the Pathshala Institute in Bangladesh.
This week the task is to remix a portrait of some internet dude called Doctor Oh, or something, but you have to read some of his stuff to get a flavour of how best and most appropriately to re-present him. Apparently this guy gives versions of his books away for free too (which is crazy ‘cuz who the hell would pay if you can get it for free) so you can do the prep for free and then the pics to remix are some that I made (I'm a photographer and a teacher) and they're CC licensed to enable you to remix and transform them into something way better than I could ever imagine – but here's the kicker – you have to license it alike so someone else can remix your remix too, like this remix by the painter Paul Wright. Alan Levine of the open storytelling class DS106 made a special website called ForTheRemix where you can find more instructions and take part.
